Review + Giveaway: The Lost Prince

THE LOST PRINCE
(Call of the Forgotten #1)
Julie Kagawa
Paranormal Young Adult
379 pages
Harlequin Teen
Available October 23rd
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Harlequin Teen)
Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.
 
That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

MY THOUGHTS 
The Lost Prince is a treat for fans of the Iron Fey series, allowing us a glimpse at a world we love from a different angle and providing us with a fresh perspective on familiar characters and problems to enrich a reading experience we already treasure. Unlike the Iron Fey books, Ethan's story takes place predominantly in the mortal world, making us instantly aware that this is in no way a continuation of Meghan's story, but a new story entirely; the story of a young man fully human who fights tooth and nail to keep the fey from poisoning his life any more than they already have. Ms. Kagawa's imagination is in no way limited by the parameters of the real world versus the Nevernever, instead she delights yet again with an unnerving new (or old, depending on how you look at it) breed of fey even as favorites from past books make brief but memorable appearances.

Ethan captures our interest from page one simply by being who he is—Meghan's little brother—but as we read he proves fascinating for reasons all his own, the loneliness his Sight has forced him to embrace practically begging us to reach in and wrap our arms around him to show him he's never as alone as he thinks. Meghan's abandonment (as he sometimes sees it) as well as an incident with a friend when he was younger have left their indelible marks on his person, giving his fear of all things fey an almost anthropomorphic quality to it as it's always by his side, leading him to make the decisions he does and strengthening its hold on him every time he bends to its will. He at times can slip into a melancholy, brooding state, flooding his mind with images of all the ways he's messed up in his young life, but thankfully love interest Kenzie is there to figuratively slap him in the face, shaking him out of his stupor before we all slip too far down his shame spiral and wallow in collective misery.

Kenzie is a young woman it's nearly impossible not to like, someone who never lets the force of Ethan's bad attitude make her stumble back in fear, instead she stands even taller after the onslaught, calmly informing him that his attempts to push her away will continue to be ineffective, and recommending he just welcome her into the fey fold with open arms as an alternative. She's not without her own vulnerabilities however, a few revelations toward the end making our fingers itch to have the next book in our hands already so we can see how she's going to tackle a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

A minor complaint with this story is a somewhat anti-climactic conclusion, the threat from the new “glamour-eating” fey easily neutralized even though it's clear we've not seen the last of them. The terror we've felt on behalf of their victims fizzles away quickly and quietly in the last chapters as we finally come face to face with them, causing us to be just a touch let down after the build up. Additionally, one of the most interesting aspects, Ethan's anger with Meghan for leaving all those years ago as well as with Ash for taking her away, is mentioned briefly but is never fully explored in this first installment, leaving us wishing we were able to dig under the surface of at least one of the big elements rather than simply skimming our hands over the top. That being said however, The Lost Prince is still a highly enjoyable read, touching on some extremely intriguing emotional intricacies within the Chase family we can only hope will be given more page time moving forward.

Rating: 4/5

 GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the wonderful people at Harlequin Teen, I have 2 copies of The Lost Prince to give away on the blog today! To enter, please just leave a comment on this post with a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. Giveaway is open to US residents only and will run through midnight on Sunday, October 21st after which time a winner will be chosen and emailed. Good luck everyone! 

THE IRON FEY SERIES

The Iron Fey saga follows half-human, half-faery Meghan Chase as she fights to claim her magical birthright.

Meghan’s journey begins in the mortal world, when her half-brother Ethan is kidnapped. The mission to rescue the innocent child draws Meghan into the Nevernever—the magical world—where the never-before-seen Iron fey are raining destruction upon traditional faeries. Meghan’s quest is fraught with unimagined dangers, unpredictable powers…and an utterly forbidden love.

Now little Ethan is all grown up—and a new breed of fey has come for him. Bound by blood to a world he despises, Ethan plunges into the Nevernever searching for answers: who are the ghostly assassins hunting him? Who controls them? And why are exiled and half-breed faeries vanishing from the mortal world?

With a vulnerable human girl to protect and an enigmatic faery ally he could never have imagined, Ethan embarks on his own Fey saga. Along the way he will encounter kin, comrades and deadly new enemies. He will discover his formidable strengths, and his deepest weaknesses—and he will fight for his life against the Forgotten.
 
Find more information on the Iron Fey here:
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And don't forget to look for book to in the Call of the Forgotten trilogy in November of 2013!